Milwaukee’s GM David Stearns joins the show to talk about how he’s begun shaping the Brewers in his first three months on the job. He covers an array of topics, including the team’s efforts to acquire controllable talent, the status of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and what he’s hoping for out of the 2016 season.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams then hops on with host Jeff Todd to talk through the current market outlook for talented infielders Ian Desmond and Howie Kendrick. While there are still plenty of possibilities for both players, the requirement of draft compensation and a dwindling number of contenders with clear needs may have sapped some of their leverage.
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The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
Lucroy not coming to the Brewer On Deck this year? Prior family commitment? Come on. The most popular player hands down and not making it? If not a wedding of a close relative then I call BS and this means he is traded before the season starts.
While you would suspect this might be true, it’s not necessarily connected:
1. Both he and the team would probably like to cut down his public appearances, they were a distraction last year
2. If the right offer comes along he’s probably getting traded anyway
Stearns is very skilled at talking without saying anything. He says they addressed 3B and CF this offseason by adding depth?? Yeah they added a bunch of failed prospects, career backups and guys not very coveted anywhere else, but none stand out as guys who belong in an everyday major league lineup or who are clearly any better than what they had. Yeah they’ll be competition in spring training, but to what end? It’s like measuring to see who’s the tallest jockey.
I wish the interviewer would have asked this question: David, you have one of the top prospects in all of baseball in Orlando Arcia about ready to burst on the scene. Is he the Brewers equivalent of Jose Altuve who ended up as the lone bright spot as the Astros suffered through historically bad seasons? Or instead will you put a team around him capable of competing sooner rather than later and taking advantage of having one of the best young shortstops in the game before his control is gone?.
@daveinmp – Cecchini was a Top 100 prospect and has always been a Top 10 in the Red Sox org. He altered his approach the past 1yr+ to generate more power and it took him away from everything that made him successful combined with playing several different positions last year, which can also take its toll offensively. He gets back to where he was and the Brewers now have a young 3b who can hit line to line and get on base while playing decent defense. I’d say that’s a massive upgrade over Herrera and Perez as well as Aramis’ performance at the end with the team.
Phillips is a Top 40 prospect and will be the CF of the future starting at the end of this season – do you expect Stearns to acquire a skilled, experienced CF with a long-term contract? Broxton is intriguing given his well-rounded skill set on both sides of the ball and could develop into a strong 4th OF or trade bait if performs to his potential – he was also blocked at all 3 OF spots in Pitt. Flores is another 4th OF type that can play all positions and he could be traded as well if performs as someone like Michael Reed is coming up in AAA and could be a strong 4th OF option too. These guys are needed. If Khris Davis is traded you’re looking at Braun, Phillips, Santana heading into 2017. No idea why you’re focusing on CF when the future is already covered with Phillips.
Regarding your question that you “wish would have been asked” – it’s not even a good one. Of course Stearns is going to put talent around Arcia, who will be up by the end of this season and full-time starting 2017. Arcia, Phillips, Santana + other young players such as Cecchini, Rivera (ss/2b), Walsh (2b – Rule 5 this year), Villar (utility – former Top 100) provide a lot of talent and depth in the IF. Combine them with Braun and, as of now, Lucroy you’re doing quite well. That doesn’t include any top prospects Stearns gets in return from a Lucroy trade either. Add Lopez and Hader into the rotation coming up with all these other guys. Stearns most likely will only need to fill 1, maybe 2 at most, position spots via free agency as everyone else is young and controllable for a while plus Braun has 5yrs left on contract.
There’s a bunch of guys on the current MLB roster that very well could be traded by the break this year (Lucroy, Davis, Will Smith, Peralta, Segura, Scooter). That will net a bunch of quality top end and lower level prospects and current MLB talent for the future (2017 and beyond at MLB level). 2016 they can potentially win 70 games. 2017 roster will be VERY different from 2016, therefore Stearns can’t give anyone a straight forward answer because there’s still an absurd amount of work to do. But given ALL these young guys are controllable for 5yrs+ I’m pretty sure Stearns is going to put a competitive team on the field once they’re all up.
Nice thoughts, yeah I like what Stearns is doing. It gives the team a lot of flexibility to make further moves as time goes on.
Best reply I’ve ever read. Loved it
All very good points. Stockpiling cheap mid-level talent can only be a good thing for a team in a rebuild. We have some extremely gifted guys only a year or two away. We needn’t be signing the Dexter Fowlers of the league to get an extra win or two in a rebuild year.
And don’t forget about Lara